In the past year, Ethereum’s market capitalization has plummeted from over $125 billion to under $100 billion — a staggering loss of nearly 800 billion RMB. Amid this dramatic downturn, one critical question arises: Are the miners who power the Ethereum network still active?
The answer is yes — but not in the way they used to be. While mining continues, profitability has sharply declined, and some miners have adapted by adopting controversial strategies. Most notably, the number of empty blocks being mined has surged by 5 to 7 times since September. Certain mining pools now rely heavily on empty blocks, with one major player mining empty blocks in 86% of its total output over the past year.
Let’s dive into the data, explore how mining behavior has evolved, and uncover what this means for Ethereum’s long-term health.
The State of Ethereum Mining: Stability Amid Decline
Despite widespread fears of a mining exodus during the prolonged crypto bear market, on-chain data reveals a more nuanced reality. Miners haven’t disappeared — they’ve adapted.
Block Production Remains Steady
At first glance, Ethereum’s block production appears stable. Over the past six months, the network has consistently produced blocks at a rate of roughly one every 10–19 seconds, with around 600,000 daily transactions processed.
This stability is maintained by Ethereum’s difficulty adjustment algorithm, which automatically recalibrates mining difficulty to keep block times consistent. As a result, even as miner participation fluctuates, the network ensures predictable block intervals.
👉 Discover how blockchain networks maintain stability during volatility
However, steady block production doesn’t mean mining activity is unchanged.
Mining Activity Is Declining — Here’s the Evidence
While block rates remain constant, key metrics reveal a clear decline in actual mining effort:
Hashrate and Difficulty Are Falling
Two crucial indicators — network hashrate and mining difficulty — have both dropped significantly, particularly in September and November.
- Hashrate measures the total computational power dedicated to mining.
- Difficulty reflects how hard it is for miners to solve the cryptographic puzzles required to mine a block.
These two metrics are strongly correlated: as more miners join, difficulty increases; as they leave, both hashrate and difficulty fall.
A scatter plot of block difficulty versus hashrate shows a clear positive correlation — except for two distinct clusters around the 3200 TH mark. This split suggests delayed miner response to difficulty adjustments. When difficulty spikes (as in June and September), hashrate lags behind due to operational inertia — miners can’t instantly scale up or down.
This lag implies that while large-scale operations are still present, many smaller participants have likely exited or reduced capacity.
Miner Count Stable — But Participation Is Shrinking
Interestingly, the number of unique miner addresses (mostly mining pools) has remained relatively constant. This suggests miners aren’t abandoning Ethereum entirely — instead, they’re optimizing operations to survive thin margins.
Yet beneath this surface stability lies a deeper trend:
Individual Miner Contributions Are Dropping
By analyzing payout data from major pools, we see a clear decline in the number of individual miners receiving rewards. This indicates fewer small miners are actively contributing hash power.
Take Ethermine, the largest mining pool: its daily payout count has steadily decreased. While weekly payout cycles cause temporary spikes (20–25% increases on payout days), the overall trend shows shrinking participation.
Other top pools — including F2Pool, SparkPool, and Nanopool — show similar patterns. F2Pool saw the most significant drop in active contributors, signaling consolidation among fewer, larger operators.
The Rise of Empty Blocks: A Profit-Driven Strategy
One of the most telling shifts in miner behavior is the sharp rise in empty blocks — blocks that contain no transactions.
Since September, empty block production has increased 5–7x. Why would miners do this?
Empty Blocks Can Be More Profitable
From a miner’s perspective, revenue comes from three sources:
- Block reward: ~89% (newly minted ETH)
- Transaction fees: ~2%
- Uncle block rewards: ~9%
The average miner earns about 3.03 ETH per block, worth roughly $275 at current prices. But here’s the twist: empty blocks are faster to mine.
Data shows:
- Blocks with fewer than 10 transactions take just 9.8 seconds to produce.
- Average block time across all blocks: 14.5 seconds.
- Average time for 11,741 mined empty blocks: 13.2 seconds.
Faster production means:
- Lower chance of becoming an uncle block (orphaned due to timing conflicts).
- Higher chance of being accepted into the main chain.
Thus, skipping transaction inclusion reduces risk and increases confirmation speed — making empty blocks a rational choice when transaction fees are low.
👉 Learn how miners optimize block selection for maximum returns
Who’s Mining Empty Blocks?
Out of 11,741 empty blocks mined in the past six months, just 103 miners were responsible. The top five include:
- F2Pool_2
- Ethermine
- Nanopool
Three of these are among the top five hashrate contributors — no surprise given their scale.
But behavior varies:
- F2Pool_2 shows a sharp increase in empty block mining, especially during price drops in March, June, July, and September. Its average gas usage per block dropped significantly — indicating a price-sensitive strategy.
- In contrast, Etherdig, ranked second in empty block production, mines empty blocks 86% of the time, regardless of price. This suggests empty blocks are its core business model.
- Notably, SparkPool, another top-five pool, does not engage heavily in empty block mining — showing not all large players follow this trend.
Why This Matters for Ethereum’s Future
The shift toward empty blocks reflects broader economic pressures:
- With ETH prices low, transaction fees provide minimal incentive.
- Miners prioritize speed and certainty over fee income.
- Network decentralization may weaken as smaller miners exit.
While empty blocks don’t break consensus, they degrade user experience — transactions take longer to confirm, and dApp performance suffers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is an empty block in Ethereum mining?
An empty block is a mined block that contains no transactions other than the coinbase transaction (the block reward). It’s valid but doesn’t process any user activity on the network.
Q: Why would a miner choose to mine an empty block?
Miners may mine empty blocks to reduce propagation time and increase the likelihood of their block being accepted into the main chain — especially when transaction fees are low and speed outweighs fee rewards.
Q: Is mining empty blocks harmful to Ethereum?
While not malicious, widespread empty block mining can reduce network efficiency. Users face longer wait times for transaction inclusion, which impacts dApps and overall usability.
Q: How common are empty blocks now compared to before?
Since September 2024, empty block frequency has increased by 5 to 7 times. Some mining pools now produce empty blocks in over 80% of their output.
Q: Can protocol changes prevent empty block mining?
Yes. Ethereum could adjust incentives — such as increasing base rewards or restructuring fee mechanisms — to encourage transaction inclusion. However, post-merge proof-of-stake dynamics limit such tweaks.
Q: Are miners leaving Ethereum permanently?
Not entirely. While individual participation is down, major pools remain active. Many miners are adapting rather than exiting — using strategies like empty block mining to stay profitable.
Final Thoughts: Resilience in Adversity
Ethereum’s mining ecosystem is under pressure — but not broken. Despite an $800 billion market contraction, miners persist through strategic adaptation.
Empty blocks may signal short-term profit-seeking, but they also highlight the network’s resilience. As long as there’s some incentive to mine, innovation in survival tactics will continue.
For observers and investors alike, this period offers valuable insight into how decentralized networks respond to economic stress — not with collapse, but with evolution.
👉 Explore how blockchain networks adapt during market downturns